US PIRG – Feb 10 – While the EU has taken great strides towards strong rules to protect consumers' data, laws in the U.S. aren't up to the task of keeping users data safe. To rein in the data collection and surveillance practices of the online advertising industry, it's going to take a global effort. U.S. PIRG advocate R.J. Cross explains what happens to users' data with help from Finn Myrstad of the Norwegian Consumer Council.
Month: February 2021
Exploring AI Revenue Generation Opportunities In Dating Apps
FORBES – Feb 10 – Dating apps are already exploring the ways in which AI can help with revenue generation. AI can assist users in making decisions in their real-world relationship, based on their interactions on dating apps. AI can suggest gifts users can purchase, and companies like Uncommon Goods are already implementing these types of tools. AI can also suggest activities for the dating user to help them engage with their partner. Dating apps can partner up with third-party apps in order to generate additional revenue and aid in each other's growth. Loveflutter, a British dating app, analyzes chats to establish the inherent compatibility of two users before offering places to meet. It can suggest relevant meeting places. Such suggestions can be redirected to custom-apps of the restaurants or restaurant aggregator apps, like Uber Eats or Grubhub.
Bumble Stock Surges 70% in Market Debut
WALL STREET JOURNAL – Feb 10 – Bumble's stock opened at $76 a share, well above its IPO price of $43 to bring valuation to $8.6B. Bumble joins rival Match on the public market. Match unsuccessfully tried to acquire Bumble, and it later sued Bumble in 2018 for infringing patents for "swiping" and other features that have made Tinder popular. Bumble called Match a "bully" and filed a $400 million lawsuit in response. The two companies in June 2020 said they settled all litigation between them.
by Dave Sebastian & Michael Wursthorn
See full article at Wall Street Journal
Q&A With The Bevy’s Professional Matchmakers
MENSHEALTH – Feb 10 – Nikki Lewis and Greta Tufvesson reveal the best, worst, and weirdest parts of their job. The Bevy's hand-selected clients meet with Tufvesson and Lewis to hash out what they're looking for in a partner; from there, the matchmakers pair them with other smart, successful singles in their circle.
Q: How many marriages have you "created"?
A: ~35 marriages and counting.
Q: What's the most common reason the men you work with are still single?
A: We work with some of the most eligible bachelors who have no problem meeting women and dating on their own, but like many accomplished and busy men, they've reached a point in their lives where they value accomplishing certain goals – like relationships – more proactively, efficiently, and effectively. They tend to be very particular about who they're looking to meet, and we are able to get them there quicker.
Q: What's the most common reason the women you work with are still single?
A: Many of our female members are busy, too, and want to focus on quality versus quantity.
Q: What's the single hardest part of your job?
A: The hardest part of this job is predicting chemistry. I have felt 110% positive about certain setups and I’m floored when the feedback was "Great person, just not for me."
Q: How important is physical attraction when it comes to finding a life partner?
A: Physical attraction is pretty instantaneous for men, and develops with women. Physical attraction is usually a baseline for chemistry for men, but not necessarily for women. We always urge a second date if our clients are unsure.
Q: How important is sexual chemistry when it comes to finding a life partner?
A: It is important but not enough to make a long term partnership work. It needs to be substantiated with morals, intellectual stimulation and shared goals.
Q: What are the biggest mistakes men make on first dates?
A: Men often talk too much about themselves in order to prove their worth.
Q: What's the biggest misconception people have about your job?
A: I think that the industry as a whole has a negative stigma largely based on reality TV shows. Our clients are private, sophisticated and serious.
Q: What's your best piece of advice for people who are single and feeling like they'll never meet the right person?
A: You will if you let go of who that person is 'supposed' to be.
50% of Online Daters Research Their Date Before First Date
PR NEWSWIRE – Feb 11 – Avast, a digital security and privacy company, conducted a survey of 15K users. The survey revealed that one in two online users (50%) have searched someone that they matched with on a dating app. Of this group, 30% decided not to meet the person based on what they found online or because they could not find anything. Most of them use Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok (72%), or search engines (40%). Only a few users looked them up on LinkedIn (17%) or performed a reverse image search (23%).
Bumble Prices IPO at $43 per Share
Match Stock Hits High on Hyperconnect Acquisition as Tinder Growth Slows
INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY – Feb 10 – Match's stock popped 7.7% to an all-time closing high of 171 on the stock market today. The Hyperconnect acquisition comes just as Match rival Bumble goes public. Hyperconnect garnered $200M in fiscal 2020 from two mobile apps, Azar and Hakuna. Match expects the South Korean company to grow revenues 40% to 50% in 2021. Japan recently became Match's second biggest market, behind the U.S. But Tinder growth has slowed in the U.K., Brazil and India amid the coronavirus pandemic. Match has pivoted to video chatting amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
by Reihardt Krause
See full article at Investor's Business Daily
MuzMatch and BuzzArab – Top Muslim Dating Apps
THE NATIONAL NEWS – Feb 10 – Muzmatch, the world's largest Muslim dating app, has gained 1M new users in the previous six months alone, 35% of them of Arab ethnicity. It was founded in 2011 by British-Asian Shahzad Younas as a marriage website for Muslims. The app claims 4M users worldwide and 50 employees. Family pressure is often given by Muslims and Arabs as a factor in deciding to tie the knot. Sherif Omar, the founder of the BuzzArab dating app, says: "There are a lot of negative connotations around online dating. In Arabic you don't even use the word date." BuzzArab has ~400K active users. Most of the users are in Morocco, France, Algeria and Egypt. Muzmatch plans to launch across South-East Asia and the Middle East. After successfully completing a $7M Series A funding round in 2019, Mr Younas has big ambitions for his company. While Mr Omar is not looking for investment, he is considering the scope for growth in the US, Canada and Australia, which are homes to large Arab communities.
Conversation With Tim Sexton, CEO of DNA Romance
SMART SOCIETY PODCAST – Feb 10 – Our DNA can help us find people with whom we are compatible on a deeper level than simply matching interests from a questionnaire. DNA Romance generates potential matches based on a DNA analysis of genes involved with immune system response that research has connected to human attraction.
“33,000 Dates” Coaching Services, Started by It’s Just Lunch Founder
LAS VEGAS WEEKLY – Feb 10 – Back in the pre-internet dating era, romantic disaster set Andrea McGinty on her life course. Her fiancé broke things off just weeks before their wedding. This led her to found matchmaking service It's Just Lunch. Fast-forward a quarter century. McGinty sold that business, relocated to Las Vegas five years ago and founded a new company: 33,000 Dates. The name comes from the number of dates she estimates she has set up over the course of her career. She helps women in their 30s, 40s and 50s navigate online dating, from the perspective of writing their profiles and vetting their photos to choosing the right dating site for them.
by C. Moon Reed
See full article at Las Vegas Weekly
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